This weekend saw the British Touring Car Championship return to Knockhill Racing Circuit for rounds 19,20 and 21. It was an action packed 3 days of thrills, spills and belly aches with a whole host of sausage kerb surfing and door paint swapping. To top it off, Scotland’s very own Rory Butcher made his BTCC Debut in the “Team Shredded Wheat Racing with DUO” Ford Focus.
We caught up with him to see what he had to say about it all :
TT: Has a seat in the touring cars been on your mind for a while or was this just an opportunity you pounced on?
RB: It definitely snuck up on me. My career has been going in a completely different direction for years so to be offered a BTCC drive was a shock, but a nice one! The team and I do have history together as I raced for Motorbase Performance in British GT in 2014/2015!
TT: We know you’re no stranger with door to door competition given your experience in gt racing. Just how different is it out there on the BTCC grid?
RB: Its very different from a racing point of view, before my endurance racing career kicked off in 2014 I came up through sprint racing with Formula Ford and Porsche Carrera Cup, but race 1 on Sunday was a real culture shock. The BTCC cars can take so much abuse, some of the hits i took would have put me out of the a Formula Ford or Porsche race where the cars are more delicate. When I started race 1 from P25 the contact I received from the other cars was a bit clumsy and unprofessional and I came out the car thinking what the hell! Then I as I came up through the field in races 2/3 I learned that the top drivers are assertive and aggressive but pass more cleanly and professionally. Although I dropped places in race 3 it was a great experience being in amongst the big guns and I learned a lot!
TT: Sat on the start line, waiting for the lights to go out, who’s voice is in your head and what are they saying? We’ll assume it’s not Gordon advising a little lift in 6th?
RB: I’m not sure who’s voice was in there, I think it was a younger me!! The feelings I had on the build up to my front row start were similar to when I raced Formula Fords. I was fired up that’s for sure!
TT: You scored 2 top 10 finishes this weekend. A stellar performance given the new car and setup. What would you like to have in place for the next round. Bigger elbows?
RB: More of the same would be nice. Coming in at this stage in the season is tough so to finish all 3 races and bag 2 top tens exceeded our expectations. I’m at the start of the learning curve in the BTCC after racing RWD for over 10 years, I know I have more to come and I’m looking forward to the moment where I really get on top of the racing. I need to find a little bit in every area. Bigger elbows is certainly on the list, I was a bit hesitant in passing Newsham in the last race but I got it done eventually. The reason the guys behind me got past is because I was struggling through the Chicane which put me on the back foot into Clarks and then the Hairpin, so I’ll need to tidy up the mistakes as the top guys don’t need an invitation to send it up the inside!!
TT: Who do you see being your biggest rival/s for the rest of the season.
RB: No-one in particular. Just need to better my own performance!!
TT: Do you have a goal set for the end of the season?
RB: A podium would a dream. I had the opportunity to snatch a podium in race 3 but it was too soon to be in that position. Next time I’ll be ready!
TT: Do you think you’re a fwd convert now or does your heart still belong to rwd race cars?
RB: Rwd is just heaven and I’m so dialled into how a rwd reacts and works. It will take time to really fine tune my driving style around the Focus but I do really enjoy fwd as well.
TT: 32 cars on the grid. How much smaller does a circuit you know so well feel in such situations?
RB: It felt okay as you are only ever racing with 2 or 3 cars at a time, but yeah the BTCC grid do like to find gaps that you never knew were there. Ash Sutton and I tried to go two abreast through the Chicane and I lost out in that move. Neither of us backed out, it was a lot of fun but I lost 3 positions. Stick the BTCC grid on a runway and they’d make it feel tight!
TT: How did it feel making your BTCC debut in front of your home fans? There were a lot of them cheering you on from the stands.
RB: It was amazing to see people getting behind me and everyone was so friendly. In the GT racing scene the crowds are very different, so I’m not used to having people know who I am. The Knockhill fans were just awesome!
TT: What advice would you like to pass back onto Flash after this weekend?
RB: Flat in sixth was easy, he should try it sometime!!
Rory returns with the rest of the BTCC faithful for the penultimate race weekend on the 26th August at Rockingham. We would like to wish him all the best and will be following him closely to see if he can keep climbing up that well greased grid.
‘Mon the Butch!
